Now that fishers are required to use GPR devices, it’s more important than ever to be aware of where you can and can’t fish. To help with this, the Ministry for Primary Industries have developed the “Open Geospatial Data Portal”. With this tool, you can download mapping files (spatial data files). These files cover all types of areas, such as:

• Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs)
• Quota Management Areas (QMAs)
• Statistical Areas
• Restricted Areas

You can download and use these files on your plotter or computer. Files are available in the following formats:

• Spreadsheet (CSV)
• Google Earth (KML)
• Shapefile (GIS)

To find out more, please see MPI’s “Open Geospatial Data Portal” here. A link to the portal will be available on the FishServe's Useful Links page, under the Information tab.